The prospect of using polyvinyl chloride with -n-hydroxyl amine, a metal binding agent, to adsorb uranium from its aqueous solution

Abstract

Polyvinyl chloride-based N-hydroxyl amine (PVC-NHA) was demonstrated as a straightforward and innovative way to remove U(VI) from solutions. The PVC-NHA composite was exposed to exact testing using various techniques, including FT-IR, TGA, BET, ¹H NMR, SEM-EDX, ¹³C NMR, and GC–MS assessments, all of which demonstrated the successful preparation of PVC-NHA. The specifications for this composite were accurately carried out, guaranteeing a good result. The optimization of various experimental parameters led to the refinement of measurements such as pH, temperature, agitation time, starting U(VI) concentration, interfering ions, PVC-NHA composite dose, and eluting agents. The optimization adjustments were gained at a temperature of 25 °C, a pH of 3.5, 15 min agitation time, and 0.63 × 10^-3 mol/L U(VI). The PVC-NHA composite exhibited an impressive maximum uptake capacity of 63 mg/g. This uptake capacity was equivalent to a remarkable 126 mg/L of U(VI) ions. The sorption isotherm modelling showed that Langmuir’s model fitted the practical results quite well, which was superior to the performance of the Freundlich model. The theoretical value obtained from Langmuir’s model is 61.7 mg/g, which closely supports the experimental rate of 63 mg/g. Based on U(VI) kinetic adsorption modelling, the adsorption reaction of U(VI) and PVC-NHA could be accurately illustrated by mixed pseudo-first and second-order kinetic modelling. According to thermodynamics, the adsorption process was spontaneous, exothermic, and highly favorable at tiny temperatures. Notably, the loaded composite could be efficiently eluted using 1 M H₂SO₄, achieving a remarkable 99 % efficiency rate from an economic standpoint. The PVC-NHA composite exposed excellent selectivity towards most interfering ions, demonstrating a high tolerance limit.